{"id":873,"date":"2011-09-15T21:16:17","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T21:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morephotos.net\/photoblog\/?p=472"},"modified":"2011-09-15T21:16:17","modified_gmt":"2011-09-15T21:16:17","slug":"back-to-business-chapter-8-seo-for-photographers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morephotos.com\/back-to-business-chapter-8-seo-for-photographers\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to Business Chapter 8 ~ SEO for Photographers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Success Series for Modern Day Photographers<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"SEO<\/a>

SEO for photographers<\/p><\/div>\n

image courtesy of digitalart<\/a><\/h6>\n

In last week\u2019s edition<\/a>, we talked about \u201cwhere to advertise\u201d – from phone books to fundraising events, and how to know when you\u2019re getting the most bang-for-your buck.\u00a0 We only briefly touched the surface of online marketing, and this week we\u2019re expanding that topic to include tips on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for photographers; more specifically answering the question \u2013 \u201chow do you get found online\u201d?\u00a0 This chapter will be the introduction to SEO, and will be followed up with another edition including more detailed tips.<\/p>\n

The first and most important piece to SEO is proper website structure.\u00a0 You want to lay out each page in a thoughtful way, that is user friendly for your prospective and current clients.\u00a0 Your pages must also be easily navigable by the search engines.\u00a0 Having pages such as \u201cHome\u201d, \u201cAbout\u201d, and \u201cContact\u201d are a must.\u00a0 Additional pages that make a site more interesting to the user are a benefit as well.\u00a0 \u201cIn the Studio\u201d, \u201cTestimonials\u201d and \u201cBlog\u201d are just a few examples.\u00a0 Once you get that part down, here are some tips that will help you get each page properly optimized for our tricky and constantly changing friends (or enemies) \u2013 the search engines.<\/p>\n

Meta (a.k.a. Page) Titles:<\/strong> \u00a0Read by all search engines \u2013 and the information is used when tagged as a Favorite or a Bookmark (in your browser).\u00a0 This tag can be seen in the blue or gray bar at the top of most browsers.\u00a0 This is your MOST IMPORTANT piece of searchable data.\u00a0 To see what your current Meta Title is, mouse over the tab at the top of any webpage you\u2019re on and you will see it.\u00a0 Note: \u00a0this is different than your url (http:\/\/www.traversecityphotography.com).<\/p>\n

Example: Wedding & Portrait Photographer| Traverse City, MI | Mike Connors Photography<\/p>\n

Keywords:<\/strong> Metadata field read and used by YAHOO.<\/p>\n

Use words and phrases that web surfers would use to search for you. Include your location, special services or skills and your business name.\u00a0 Include words AND phrases and separate with commas.<\/p>\n

WARNING: This is fairly new from Yahoo. Do not use the same word repetitively. THREE (3)<\/strong> times or less<\/strong> is a good rule of thumb, otherwise the search engines may tag that word as spam and ignore it.\u00a0 Limit yourself to about 250 to 300 characters.<\/p>\n

Example:\u00a0 Traverse City, Wedding Photographers, Photography, Mike Connors, Senior portraits, family photos, photojournalism, professional photographer.<\/p>\n

Meta Description: <\/strong>Read by Google and other engines.\u00a0 The snippet may be used in Google\u2019s search results, or they may use other text from your webpage.<\/p>\n

Be clear and concise.\u00a0 Pack as many keywords as you reasonably can.\u00a0\u00a0 Use proper punctuation and a sentence format as it will be read in the snippet of the search results.\u00a0 Use about 250 characters.<\/p>\n

Example:\u00a0 Michigan Photographer Michael Connors, owner of TC Photography by Mike, also shoots Senior Portraits, Family Reunions, Bar Mitzvahs and other specialty event photos.<\/p>\n

How do I change these fields?\u00a0 <\/strong>Good question.\u00a0 If you\u2019re tech savvy then you already know how to change them in the code.\u00a0 If you have a CMS (content management system) for your website, then there are often SEO fields listed for each page, or at least the home page of your site.\u00a0 Last resort \u2013 do the research and tell your web designer what changes you would like and they can implement them for you (there is usually a small fee associated).<\/p>\n

Page Content:\u00a0 <\/strong>Use of relevant page content to your industry and your target search terms will help in the overall goal of getting your website well optimized for the search engines.\u00a0 Try to blend the techniques we\u2019ve discussed and use relevant keyword phrases.\u00a0 Try to stay between 3% and 6% of total page content for any given keyword phrase in your text content.<\/p>\n

Important: <\/strong>Please note that all of the above should be completed after doing thorough research on what keyword phrases are actually being searched for.\u00a0\u00a0 You can obtain estimates of real monthly search volume via Google\u2019s free keyword tool<\/a>.\u00a0 Need help?\u00a0 Feel free to reach out to us for an affordable SEO consultation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned for the next edition which will cover SEO in further detail so you can start to see your website creep up in the rankings.<\/p>\n

Drew Warner | MorePhotos SEO Specialist<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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